Gamesas G10X-4.5 MW prototype wind turbine at Alaiz (Navarra) sets a new output record for a turbine in spain

Navarra - The G10X-4.5 MW wind turbine, installed by Gamesa near Alaiz (Navarra, Spain), on 11 March set a new record for energy output by a wind turbine in Spain. The turbine generated electricity for 23.24 equivalent hours yesterday at nominal capacity (98.26% of the day), for a total of 104.6 MWh.

The turbine's performance yesterday broke the previous record of 98.5 MWh, which was set by the same machine on 22 January. The Alaiz machine is the second G10X-4.5 MW prototype Gamesa has erected in Spain with the aim of achieving the highest possible levels of availability, energy efficiency and network codes for this turbine system from day one. The first prototype is installed at the R&D wind farm in Jaulin, Zaragoza.

Lightweight, competitive and easy to transport and assemble

Gamesa's G10X-4.5 MW offers 4.5 MW of nominal capacity, which makes it the most powerful turbine on the land-based wind energy market.

Its most appealing features include its light weight, despite its size -- a 120-metre tower and blades more than 62.5 metres in length --; its competitiveness in cost of energy (CoE) terms; and its ease of transport and assembly. The latter makes the turbine as easy to handle as a 2.0-MW turbine, thanks to the technology behind its segmented blade -- unique in the world -- and to innovations such as the FlexiFit, a crane which couples to the nacelle and serves as a tool for assembling and servicing the machine.

The annual output of a single G10X-4.5 MW is enough to meet the yearly electricity needs of 3,169 households, replace nearly 1,000 equivalent tonnes of oil (toe/year) and prevent 6,750 tonnes of CO2 atmospheric emissions annually.

ZF Friedrichshafen and Schaeffler are collaborating to develop new solutions for predicting the operating life of wind turbine gearbox components based on the actual loads that occur during operation. Since September, the first wind turbine gearboxes equipped with sensors and condition monitoring systems have been supplying operating data to a cloud-to-cloud solution to enable this to happen.

Slowly but surely the floating offshore wind energy sector is becoming more and more important, particularly because of the fact that the number of locations with shallow waters suitable for fixed-bottom foundations is limited. Floating wind is turning into a highly scalable future energy source because the wind resource in deep waters is extensive and offers a significant potential for marine renewable energy development and growth to many countries.

Developers commissioned a little over 45GW of onshore wind turbines globally in 2018 compared with 47GW a year earlier. Just four manufacturers accounted for more than half, or 57%, of the machines deployed: Denmark’s Vestas, China’s Goldwind, GE Renewable Energy of the U.S. and Spain’s Siemens Gamesa.